How Do I Get My Google Ads to Show in AI Mode? (2026)

There is no AI Mode campaign to create: Google ads show in AI Mode from campaigns you already run, as long as they are Performance Max, Shopping, or Search campaigns using broad match or AI Max for Search, and they win the auction for that conversation. Getting there is about campaign setup, landing pages and clean conversion data, not a new checkbox. Adstudio shows you in one conversation which of your campaigns qualify, which countries now see AI Mode ads, and which search terms look like AI Mode questions.

TL;DR

• On October 28, 2026, Google expanded ads in AI Mode to Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore, with Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom planned for Q4 2026.
• In the US, Google also launched multiturn ads, which can appear on follow-up questions inside an AI Mode conversation.
• Eligible campaigns, per Google: Performance Max, Shopping, and Search with broad match, including AI Max for Search.
• Google's help page on AI Overviews says you cannot opt out of that placement and that those ads are reported as Top ads, with no separate segment.
• Measure it indirectly: country splits before and after the launch date, plus the question-shaped search terms in your Search terms report.

Where do ads in AI Mode show up now?

AI Mode is the conversational tab in Google Search where people ask long questions and follow up. Ads in AI Mode started in the US. In its October 28, 2026 announcement, Google said it is now scaling ads in AI Mode to 10 more countries:

Google said the ads are labelled "Sponsored". Search Engine Roundtable's write-up of the same announcement matches the country list and the Q4 timing.

If you advertise in one of the new countries, October 28, 2026 is the date to note in your reporting. Anything that changes in those campaigns from that week on may be AI Mode traffic arriving, and you will want a clean before-and-after line to compare against.

Which Google Ads campaigns are eligible for AI Mode?

Google has said that advertisers using Performance Max, Shopping, and Search campaigns with broad match, including AI Max for Search campaigns, are eligible to have their ads appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode, in its Google Marketing Live post on Search ads. Google's help page on ads and AI Overviews describes the matching side: Google uses broad match, the keywordless matching in AI Max for Search, Performance Max, Shopping campaigns or Dynamic Search Ads to match ads to the query and to the content of the AI answer.

Here is how that sorts a typical account:

The pattern is clear: AI Mode questions are long and conversational, and no keyword list anticipates them word for word. Google reaches them through the matching that reads intent, not through your exact keywords.

Do I need a separate campaign for AI Mode?

No. Ads in AI Mode come from your existing campaigns and run through the normal ad auction. That has two consequences worth spelling out.

First, the controls you already have are the controls that apply: budget, bid strategy, conversion goals, negative keywords and, with AI Max, URL exclusions and brand lists. If you would not want a query in your Search campaign, block it there.

Second, you cannot buy AI Mode on its own. For AI Overviews, Google's help page states plainly that you cannot opt out of serving there. Google has not published a separate AI Mode switch either, so the practical decision is the one above: which campaigns use broad match, AI Max or Performance Max, and how well each is guarded.

What are multiturn ads in AI Mode?

Multiturn ads are the US-only part of the October 28 announcement. Google describes them as ads that show up on responses to follow-up questions, while someone goes back and forth with AI Mode.

That matters for how you think about intent. The first question in a conversation is often broad ("what should I look for in a running shoe for flat feet"). The third follow-up is often narrow ("which of these are waterproof and ship this week"). Multiturn ads let your ad answer the narrow one, so the landing page it lands on should be just as specific: a filtered category, a product page, a pricing page. A generic home page loses that moment.

How do I see how my ads perform in AI Mode?

There is no AI Mode row in Google Ads today. For AI Overviews, Google's help page says ads there are reported as Top ads and that Google Ads does not offer a separate segment for that placement. You measure AI Mode the way you measure any change you cannot isolate: indirectly, and with care.

Three reads that work:

1. Before and after, by country. For campaigns targeting one of the 10 new countries, compare the weeks before October 28, 2026 with the weeks after, split by country. Look at impressions, clicks, conversions and cost per conversion side by side. A country that moves while your others stay flat is worth a closer look.
2. Question-shaped search terms. Open the Search terms report and look for long queries that read like questions: ones starting with how, what, which, can or best. Grouping them by word shows how much spend they carry and whether they convert. If you run AI Max, filter the match type to AI Max as well; our guide to seeing what AI Max is doing shows where those terms live.
3. Cost per conversion, not volume. More impressions is not the goal. If the new traffic converts at your target cost, let it run. If it spends without converting, block the terms and fix the landing pages first.

All three depend on your conversions being counted correctly. If you are not sure they are, start with our checklist for checking Google Ads conversion tracking.

How do I get my account ready for AI Mode ads?

The order we would work in:

1. Fix conversion tracking. Broad match, AI Max and Performance Max all bid on the conversions you report. Wrong data teaches them the wrong lesson at a larger scale.
2. Decide which Search campaigns should reach conversational queries. Exact and phrase match campaigns are not on Google's eligible list. For each one, decide whether it should stay tight (brand, high-cost keywords) or test AI Max or broad match with Smart Bidding.
3. Make landing pages answer questions. AI Max matches using your landing pages and assets, per Google's AI Max overview. Pages that state who the product is for, what it costs and how it compares give the matching something real to read.
4. Clean up negatives before the traffic arrives. Long queries bring more irrelevant ones. Shared negative keyword lists across campaigns save you from fixing the same term in every campaign; see how to add negative keywords to many campaigns at once.
5. Check where Performance Max spends. If Performance Max is your main eligible campaign, the channel performance report shows how much of it goes to Search versus other channels.

One opinion from working through accounts: do not switch every campaign to broad match because AI Mode exists. Move the campaigns whose conversion data can carry it, keep the rest tight, and judge the change on cost per conversion after a few weeks.

How does Adstudio help with AI Mode?

Adstudio connects to your Google Ads account, along with Meta Ads and TikTok Ads if you run them, so you can run this review as a conversation instead of five reports:

• "Which of my Search campaigns use AI Max, and what does each one bid toward?" Adstudio reads each campaign's settings, including AI Max, and its bid strategy, so you can see which campaigns are on Google's eligible list.
• "Split my Google Ads spend and conversions by country for the 30 days after October 28 versus the 30 days before." Adstudio compares the two periods by country, which is the before-and-after line for the new AI Mode markets.
• "Show my search terms grouped by word, and how much the ones starting with how, what and which spent." Adstudio groups search terms into words and phrases with their spend and conversions, so the question-shaped queries stand out.
• "Block these terms in all three campaigns" or "turn on AI Max in this campaign." Adstudio shows the change on a card first and changes Google Ads only after you approve, then reads the campaign back to confirm it landed.

The same questions work across many accounts at once, which is where an agency feels the difference. For a broader pass, our checklist for finding wasted ad spend in Google Ads pairs well with this one. You can connect an account to Adstudio from $19/month and try it.

FAQ

Can I target AI Mode directly in Google Ads?

No. Ads in AI Mode come from your existing Performance Max, Shopping, and broad match or AI Max Search campaigns through the normal auction. Google's help page on AI Overviews also says you cannot opt out of that placement.

Which countries have ads in AI Mode?

The US, plus Australia, Canada, India, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Singapore as of Google's October 28, 2026 announcement. Google plans Brazil, Mexico and the United Kingdom for Q4 2026.

Do exact match keywords show in AI Mode?

Exact and phrase match are not on the list of campaign setups Google named as eligible. Google's announcement lists Performance Max, Shopping, and Search with broad match, including AI Max for Search.

Are ads in AI Mode labelled?

Yes. Google says ads in AI Mode are labelled "Sponsored", per its October 28, 2026 post.

Where do AI Overview and AI Mode ads show up in my reports?

Inside your normal campaign reporting. For AI Overviews, Google says the ads are reported as Top ads and there is no separate segment, per its help page. Compare periods by country and read the Search terms report to see the effect.

Can an AI assistant tell me if my campaigns are ready for AI Mode?

Yes. In Adstudio you ask which campaigns use AI Max or broad match, compare countries before and after October 28, and review question-shaped search terms with their spend and conversions, then approve any change before Google Ads is touched.

Availability and eligibility reflect Google's announcements and Google Ads Help as of October 29, 2026.